muleshoe football coach
Ryan Kartje is the USC beat writer at the Los Angeles Times. Some speculate the injury mightve changed his trajectory, but the next season, Riley led Muleshoe to new heights as its quarterback anyway. But its also a dream come true. A Texas map on the wall of Muleshoe, Texas head football coach David Wood's office marks the location of their West Texas opponents, Tuesday, August 1, 2017. You have permission to edit this article. Born in Muleshoe, he was raised and schooled primarily in Colorado. From what I understand, Graves says, he wants to build his own program.. Donnie always made sure to see them a couple of times a year, said Big 12 associate commissioner John Underwood, a close friend of Duncans. We still attended all the games. Going [to USC], hes obviously ready for that challenge. Cattle ranching, dairy farming, wheat, cotton. And maybe after a few recruiting classes keeping Southern California talent at home Riley will be in a better position to take down the goliaths of the SEC by facing them in the playoff rather than tussling with them during the entire regular season. He'd dissect defenses really quickly. Hes just an athletic big kid. Not that the folks of Muleshoe don't respect Saban and what he's done for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Find content for all Muleshoe Mules' Football teams covered by MaxPreps over the years. Call. When Riley was a freshman, the Mules won 10, including a playoff game. Others speculate he wanted nothing to do with the Southeastern Conference. He keeps things pretty close to his sleeve, Garrett says. Oklahoma University head football coach Lincoln Riley raises the Big 12 Championship trophy after the Sooners beat TCU 41-17 in the conference title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas last December. He got an early start, Leach told the Tulsa World last month. Years later, when asked what hed learned from Wood, Riley wouldnt hesitate to draw parallels to the situation he now steps into at USC. Muleshoe will always be my special village. Oklahoma, where Memorial Stadium could hold 17 times the population of Muleshoe. Muleshoe went 1-19 in the two years preceding head coach Jason Richards' arrival. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. The day he interviewed, Wood recalls, there were three fights in the schools halls. After two years as OUs offensive coordinator, hell take over as head coach. You are the OC (offensive coordinator).. He played out the year on the defensive line instead. As you might expect, Runnels, who could double as a one-woman Chamber of Commerce, has a special sweet spot for Riley. Theirs is one of many businesses in town that have been passed down, then passed down again, lending Muleshoe an ingrained sense of continuity and pride. There are high expectations. Which brings us to our next topic . Hes well-versed on David Woods success with the Mules, which included a 2008 state championship. They say you are raised by a village. Maybe more frequent trips to Los Angeles planted some seeds that Southern California might be a nice place to raise two young daughters, Sloan and Stella, with wife Caitlin, even though its a much different lifestyle than what theyve known in Norman, Okla. As a junior in 2000 he helped the Mules reach the state semifinals, where they lost to Forney at the Dallas Cowboys' old home Texas Stadium in Irving. He just had natural instincts.". "I really . (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). California? Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Oklahomas Lincoln Riley is the nations preeminent quarterback guru, Lincoln Rileys hiring at USC already impacting Trojans recruiting, Malachi Nelson, The 12 hours that transformed USC football: How the Lincoln Riley deal went down, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a Guatemalan jungle and Maya ruins. Lo and behold, we get there in the team meeting and Lincoln was told, Coach (Leach) isnt coaching this game and guess what? I told him youd better get in shape because youre probably not going to get a down off, Richards said. Garrett Riley, Lincolns brother, said he had a little bit of an instinct that something like that may happen. But even he learned his brother took the USC job via social media. He just had a knack for developing plays and running the team the thing I remember most was his ability to understand the game and how its played.. Evaluate Jason Florez's football recruiting profile. "I guess probably once I started to think about going to college, I enjoyed the game so much in high school that I felt it would be part of my life some way, some how. Their hearts belonged to the Longhorns until sons Lincoln and Garrett went off to college at Texas Tech. Cortez, Raymond ( So.) He spent a couple of days in Muleshoe and wrote about his drover days. Later, when his younger brother, Garrett, quarterbacked the team, Wood consulted with Lincoln about their offense. But he dislocated his throwing shoulder before the start of the season trying to make a tackle during a practice. Maybe even an astronaut. No new houses, he says, have been built in 15 years. There are many friendship threads in Rileys small hometown of nearly 6,000. 0:46 The Muleshoe Mules had a combined 1-20 record in the two years preceding the hiring of head football coach and athletic director Jason Richards in January 2020. Texas Tech coach Mike Leach saw enough in him to recruit him as a walk on, but it wasnt too long during his time in Lubbock before Riley moved into a student assistant role. Riley isn't coaching at the nearby college -- Texas Tech -- long-favored by most of his hometown folks, is an inconvenient truth. Muleshoe rolled through four playoff games on their way to the Class 3A state semifinals, including a rare win over Friona that inspired Riley and three teammates the next summer to climb the rival towns water tower and spray paint the winning score, 23-13, for all to see. High, a West Texas town of 5,000. Family roots run generations deep in Muleshoe, making it sometimes feel like time is standing still. I knew he'd be the best next coach at a major Division I school. "Muleshoe -- don't you like just hearing it?". Its something that hes excited about. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Mules scored just one touchdown during the entire 1969 season. Every time we get steaks and have friends over, they ask, Where did you get these knives? Always my wife will say, The Rileys bought them for us as a wedding gift. He tells me to come and visit him. A Michigan native and University of Michigan graduate, Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and the Bloomington (Ind.) That part has always been important to me.. MULESHOE, Texas -- Speaking over the phone Friday morning, new USC football coach Lincoln Riley is discussing his adjustment to Los Angeles so far and laughs when asked about his current living arrangement. He had a big following when he was coming through high school. "That's a good question," he said. Current OU wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons, who was at Texas Tech for 10 years as a full-time assistant or support staff member, has witnessed Rileys fast trajectory as a college football coach. "I get back as often as I can," Riley said via cellphone after a morning practice last week in Norman, Okla. "It always will be a special place I carry with me," he said. The Mules won one game in Wood's first season, then five the next, giving Muleshoe its first. Muleshoes favorite son is now the youngest head coach in major college football. On a recent late-night broadcast of ESPN's Sports Center, anchor Neil Everett said, "When it comes to college football coaches, there's Nick Saban and there's everyone else.". The pride of Muleshoe is the new head coach of Oklahoma football, and to paraphrase a certain Oklahoma humorist, no one ever met a Muleshoe man who didn't like Lincoln Riley. Riley even remembered his old high school while working at Texas Tech. Life is too short, so dont be afraid to go for it., USC coach Lincoln Riley on leaving his small hometown of Muleshoe, Texas. This is a 33-year-old who grew up in a rural west Texas town known for its unique name, faith, family and football. Richards tutored all four quarterbacks to all-district honors each of the six years he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Hes got size, hes got a great family.. Muleshoe Football History Previous Seasons All-Time Roster 2022-23 ( 36 players) Head Coach: Reyes, Nic ( Sr.) Martens, Nathan ( So.) the after-school healthy snack program would be? Great, great people. Once he sees something, hell never forget it.. Wood always saw the mind of a coach when Riley was one of his players. certain: Neither Lincoln nor Garrett wanted to follow their father into the cotton warehouse business. And mirages! fellow students never quite understood, she said. Few will ever forget Riley leading the Mules at Texas Stadium. Ellis is the third generation to run the funeral home, which his grandfather opened in 1959. He was a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech in the spring and summer of 2003 before starting his coaching career as a student assistant there under head coach Mike Leach for three seasons (2003-05), working with the offense. What had been done was history or tradition or how theyd always done it, but it wasnt working. Suddenly Muletrain was competing with SportsCenter for eyeballs. Head Boys Powerlifting Coach Jaxon Lee. They celebrated East Carolina University victories when their oldest son spent five seasons as the Pirates offensive coordinator. He was a defensive end as a sophomore, but took over the offense in his final two seasons which included one state semifinal finish. BREAKING after two seasons Muleshoe has reassigned HFC/AD Lee Walker, Muleshoe is open #txhsfb @dctf. Eight years later, on the brink of that state championship, Riley returned to Muleshoe High for a pep rally. 33 years old, due to turn 34 early in the Sooners' season, and Riley was atop one of the greatest college football peaks there is. Lot of ag people. I had to explain everything to him only once. You could see anything in the world just ahead of you. "Now we are Oklahoma fans because Lincoln is closer. I just knew there were things I wanted to try to do, he says. For Riley's part, Muleshoe was good to him, providing the setting for a solid upbringing, a town where a boy who would someday lead one of the nation's most famous college football programs could learn lessons that shaped him. Former Mule Jaxon Lee, an AP all-state first team lineman for the squad, rounds out the new hires as the defensive line coach. Even in the classroom, when the teacher was giving notes, he'd just soak it in. The rapid rise of Lincoln Riley, from small-town quarterback to one of the most promising football minds in America, is rooted deep in this arid soil. Harrell told The Times, Really Lincoln was the first person that taught me Mike Leachs offense. Conventional wisdom might tell you to stay in that, thats what you do, and I certainly think that wouldve turned out just fine. , wheat, cotton Pirates offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach years he was raised and schooled in. Native and University of Michigan graduate, Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and Bloomington. Ahead of you fans because Lincoln is closer, giving Muleshoe its first is inconvenient. Txhsfb @ dctf better get in shape because youre probably not going to get a down off Richards... Kartje is the USC beat writer at the Los Angeles Times could double as a wedding gift remembered old! To try to do, he says, have been built in years... 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